The present invention relates to medical facilities such as ophthalmological offices, and more particularly to a novel facility for conducting eye examinations especially adapted for modular construction.
An example of a conventional ophthalmological office includes one or more examining rooms, generally of enclosed square or rectangular dimension. A patient chair is disposed adjacent one wall of an examining room and oppositely therefrom is positioned a screen. A device, called an acuity projector, is generally positioned adjacent the patient chair and includes a series of images, such as alphabetical letters, which may be selectively directed toward and projected onto the screen by suitable actuation of the ophthalmologist. The letters are for viewing by the patient so that the ophthalmologist can determine the patient's visual perception. Another instrument, known as a refractor is positionable in front of the patient's eyes and is provided so that the ophthalmologist may selectively insert, retract and exchange various lenses in order to determine the proper correction needed for the patient.
The above type of examining room may require that the screen be positioned approximately twenty feet away from the patient chair so that the patient's vision is determined according to a twenty foot standard. Alternatively, the use of mirrors may permit the screen to be positioned closer to the patient chair but it still must be appreciated that the location of the screen is somewhat distant, i.e. ten feet or so, from the patient. Eye examinations using the acuity projector and screen are conducted in darkness and it is therefore conventional for the screen to be disposed within the examining room for viewing by the patient. Of course, it can be appreciated that the screen is not necessary for all eye tests which an ophthalmologist may perform but, nevertheless, the screen is conventionally disposed within the examining room. Because of the required distance between the screen and the patient, an examining room must be oversized, that is, its square foot area is large only because it is necessary to provide the screen within the examining room. The actual space required for the patient chair, acuity projector and refractor is relatively small--it need only be large enough to comfortably accommodate the patient and ophthalmologist.
Proposals have been made to decrease the size of an examining room while still maintaining location of a screen therewithin. For instance, one example contemplates that an examining room be formed of generally L-shaped configuration so that the screen is disposed at the end of an "alley" which may be thought of as one of the legs of an "L". Another proposal contemplates that a tube extends outwardly from an end wall of an examining room with the screen being positioned at the end of the tube. While this latter proposal may provide for a smaller examining room, it should be appreciated that provision of an extending tube may interfere with other portions of the ophthalmologist's office or will be disposed outwardly from the exterior of a building providing a rather odd and cumbersome construction.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a facility for conducting ophthalmological tests which includes laterally opposed and separate first and second examining stations each of which is defined by a room having an opening provided in one wall thereof. A first display means, such as a screen is disposed inside the second examining station for displaying test indicia to be visually perceived by a first patient situated or seated in the first examining station. A second display means, such as a screen, may be disposed inside the first examining station for displaying test indicia to be visually perceived by a second patient situated or seated in the second examining station. Each of the patients, during a visual acuity test, may look through an opening provided in the wall of an associated examining station for viewing the screen which is disposed inside the opposite examining room.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a facility, such as described above, in which each of the screens is disposed within an isolating means such as an enclosure or compartment for isolating each of the screens from the examining station in which it is positioned inside while permitting viewing from a patient situated in the opposite examining station. Each of the compartments includes a window presented toward and substantially aligned with the opening of the opposite examining station. Thus, it should be appreciated that the actual internal space occupied by an examining room may be greatly diminished from that provided in prior art examining rooms because the screen is positioned inside an opposed examining station but isolated from viewing therefrom.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a facility, such as described above, in which each of the compartments is positioned substantially interiorly into its associated examining station. Further, it is contemplated that each of the examining stations is separated by a corridor means such as a hallway interposed therebetween so that an ophthalmologist may have ready access between the examining stations.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide examining stations, such as described above, which may be readily built according to modular construction. Stated differently, it is an object of the present invention to construct the examining stations as modules (of any predetermined number) which may be interconnected and positioned within a larger office space. The area or region outside of the modules may be suitably retained for other functions required in an ophthalmolgost's office, such as a waiting room bookkeeping area, chart and records area, etc.
These and additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from a consideration of the drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment.